The program that rescued Dawn is called Rescue Waggin’, a mission of mercy operated by PetSmart Charities, the nonprofit arm of the pet store chain.

Rescue Waggin’ sends teams out around the country to take homeless dogs from shelters with low adoption rates and deliver them to ones such as Boulder Valley Humane, where their chance of adoption is much higher.

Thousands of dogs have been saved in this manner — 50,000, in fact. Dog number 50,000 was Dawn, which accounts for the red carpet welcome with all the trimmings.

Elitch Gardens’ 13th Annual Fright Fest Pet Parade takes place Oct. 8 from noon until 2 p.m., benefitting the Dumb Friends League These canine pirates are some of the previous Halloween entrants. This year's registration has closed.

ANIMAL NOTES

* Should spay and neuter surgeries be mandatory for newly adopted pets?

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) thinks so, and put together a petition asking President Obama to make it happen.

PETA is using the Obama administration’s new “We the People” petition site to call for a mandatory spay-and-neuter law for all animals adopted from shelters or bought from pet stores, puppy mills, and breeders … “until the nation’s overpopulation crisis has abated and all the homeless dogs and cats in the U.S. have homes to call their own.”

PETA hoped to be the first to reach 5,000 signatures and have its petition reviewed by the White House administration. As of Friday, it had 9,595 signatures.

“We needed to gather 5,000 signatures in 30 days,” said PETA spokesperson Kristin Richards. “We had that in 24 hours.”

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* The Unwanted Horse Fund, which appeared on Colorado state income tax forms for the first time in 2011, raised $88,000 to help with unwanted horse programs.

“Raising this much money to help the many unwanted horses that are victims of the economy or, unfortunately, someone’s ignorance and abuse, is extraordinary and we are so thankful to every taxpayer who donated to the fund,” said Hildy Armour, president of the Colorado Unwanted Horse Alliance.

In 2010, Governor Bill Ritter signed into law Senate Bill 10-139, the Unwanted Horse Fund Tax Check-off. The fund is administered by the alliance. An estimated 6,000 horses became unwanted in 2009 in Colorado.

Acupunture for animals is one of the alternative therapies to be covered at upcoming expo.

Interested in getting your dog a massage? How about chiropractic treatment for your horse? Or animal communication treatment for your cat?

According to supporters, these treatments and others are more available for pets today than ever before. They say alternative, or “holistic,” care is making inroads in the animal population, just as it has for humans.

This year, Dr. Judy Jasek founded the Colorado Natural Pet Care Association, a nonprofit. The group is putting on the Colorado Natural Pet Expo on Oct. 8 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. The expo was first held last year.

The group says the goal of the event is to inform attendees about the benefits of holistic treatments for animals.Read more…

Colorado Humane, which ceased operation of its Englewood shelter in late 2009 amid allegations against its owners of mismanagement and unwarranted euthanasia of some animals, is back.

It is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Dumb Friends League and its agents are searching out animal cruelty in 12 Colorado counties.

While the Colorado Humane Society shelter was shut down, its name lived on.

“It’s a good name,” says Bob Rohde, president and CEO of the Dumb Friends League, now in its 101st year. Rohde acquired rights to the name and brought it to his board. The result was the joining of the two venerable organizations.

The Dumb Friends League has been supporting the Colorado Humane Society financially as it gets on its feet.

Jim Adams, a foster volunteer, visits with Angelo in the lobby of Foothills Animal Shelter.

Pit bulls are not the demon dogs they have been made out to be, but they are strong, active dogs that are not for everyone.

That, in a nutshell, is the message from professional staff members at Foothills Animal Shelter in Golden, who sat down with Fetch recently for a roundtable discussion about the controversial breed.

Foothills is an “open admission” shelter, meaning that no animal in need is turned away. It has always taken in pit bulls, both in the new shelter opened in 2010 and before then, when it was known as Table Mountain Animal Shelter.

Plenty of the dogs have wound up there.

Jennifer Strickland, director of community relations, said in its first year of operation, pit bulls accounted for 455 of the 4,126 animals handled at Foothills. The next biggest group was labrador retrievers.Read more…

Dr. Edward Garcia, who has been a veterinarian 50 years, checks a patient.

Dr. Edward Garcia is a satisfied man.

All the 79-year-old veterinarian wants to do is keep treating the sick and injured pets in Denver’s Sunnyside neighborhood for as long as he can.

“It sounds crazy, but it’s what makes me feel good,” Garcia says. “I enjoy practicing more now than when I first started.”

Sunnyside is one of the most economically depressed areas in the city and Garcia has given away thousands of dollars in free care to low-income people unable to pay fully, or at all. His daughter, Teresa, puts the figure at $40,000 a year.

People have flocked to him, she says. Some call him “The Patron Saint of Pets”. He certainly looks the part, with a shock of gray hair and matching beard, and a silver crucifix hanging around his neck.Read more…

One type of hoarder, rescue hoarders, feel that they have a mission in life to save and protect animals, Bergeron says.

“These individuals are often actively engaged in rescue work, and they may even own a shelter.”

The point he’s making is that you never know who has a hoarding mentality, although Bergeron and others have been trying to find common denominators.

According to Bergeron, animal hoarders can cut across many demographics. However, some studies suggest that animal hoarders are more likely to be female, elderly, isolated, and on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum.

Also, he says most hoarders have been identified with a mental health condition, such as depression or a panic disorder.

Bergeron made his comments in “Pet Talks,” a regular feature supplied by the Texas A&M veterinary college as a public service.

Fetch takes a topical look at a variety of issues affecting pets, including the latest research results.. It seeks to provide useful information for Colorado pet owners and to spotlight the work of Colorado animal welfare groups.